County of Sumter issued the following announcement on Mar. 9.
Sumter County Fire and Emergency Medical Services (SCFEMS) sent a fire engine, tender, brush truck and six people to help fight the Chipola Complex fire in Bay County in the Florida Panhandle. The Chipola Complex consists of two wildfires in close proximity. The fire covers thousands of acres and forced the evacuations of more than 1,100 homes.
Governor DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in Bay County to handle the massive wildfire. He has invoked various Emergency Management statutes that allows state and local agencies to identify personnel needed to help meet the response, recovery and mitigation needs created by this emergency.
SCFEMS will participate in this request under the Statewide Emergency Response Plan. “Our staff will be cooperating with firefighters from Hillsborough County and Madison County to fulfill the rest of the Task Force,” said Rob Hanson, Fire Chief, Sumter County Fire and EMS.
Sumter County personnel sent to fight the fire are (from left to right in photo) Firefighter Willie Jones, Firefighter Jacob Malezis, Firefighter Tony Alvarez, Lt. Kevin Ducharme, Firefighter Glen Cerrato and Firefighter Jacob Bouge.
Original source can be found here.
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